Love Behind a Closed Door
by Written Colors
Summary: Mikan Sakura has never fallen in love, but when her step brother comes back from America she learns how hard love is, and how much it hurts to hide it - especially when he becomes her math teacher.
1. Unloved Rejector

**I'm really excited to start working on a new Gakuen Alice Fanfiction! Please Read x Review. I'm also open for idea recommendations.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.**

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><p>"What we wish, we readily believe, and what we ourselves think, we imagine others think also."<p>

-Julius Caesar

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Unloved Rejecter <strong>

Love was never easy, but for Mikan Sakura love was practically impossible. Yes, she did have parents that loved her deeply, but when it came to dating she had no desire to find true love. She wasn't popular in school, but she wasn't an outcast either. With love letters still being placed in her shoe locker, she continues to decline every one of them, giving her the title "Unloved Rejecter". Though, Mikan was used to this by now and continued her days as usual.

Her brunette hair flowed against her shoulders as she walked in through the front doors. She was already 18, and had a figure of a model. It's not shock that she had admirers, but when it came to popularity Luna Koizumi always took the queen bee spot. The reason for this was because Luna's father is the Principal of the school, making everyone treat her like a queen.

Once Mikan took a step in, she could already feel the stares etching along her sides and back.

"_Can't people learn what privacy is? I don't need to be watched every morning just because love letters tend to keep popping up in my shoe locker."_ she thought in a sigh as she quickly paced over to her locker. _"Please be no love letter, there is a limit on how much guilt I could take with all this rejecting."_ Honestly, at this point Mikan thought someone was putting love letters in her locker as a joke.

Her eyes squinted slightly as she slowly opened the locker, revealing a love letter. A sigh came out of her mouth as she saw grabbed the letter, not knowing if she should read it or just throw it away. But she knew that if she read the letter it would give the sender false hope, and that was worse than a broken heart, or that's what she assumed. As she changed to her indoor shoes she closed the locker and threw the letter into the trash.

"Did you see that? No wonder she's called the "Unloved Rejecter". I wonder why these guys continue to pursue her." a girl said as she quickly backed away as a certain pair of hazel eyes glanced at her. Instead of causing any scene, Mikan simply just ignored the situation.

As she approached the classroom a lot of the students stared at her, while a handful of her friends came over to greet her. "Looks like the heart breaker continues to hold her title as the 'Unloved Rejecter'" Koko exclaimed in a joking manner as he went over to where Mikan was sitting. "Ha ha Koko, real funny." she replied back in a sarcastic tone, making the jokester act out a hurt expression. "Ouch Mikan, hurts me right in heart." Her hazel eyes just rolled at his comment.

Kokoro Yume, Koko for short, is one of the handful amounts of friends Mikan has. Because of her title she tends to scare away a lot of people, but that didn't stop some of them from approaching her. He has brownish-yellowish hair and light brown eyes, which complemented his features. He was also quite the jokester of the class, lightening up the mood with his quirky expressions and phrases. Along with Koko there was another close friend she had, though Mikan still had difficulty figuring her out.

"Hotaruuuu, why are you sitting so far from us?" Mikan exclaimed in a sad tone as she watched her best friend in the back making an invention. "Because idiots like you two distract me from creating anything." Hotaru stated in a stale tone as she continued to work.

Hotaru Imai was her emotionless, yet lovable best friend. Mikan and Hotaru have been together for quite a long time, so long that they're even childhood friends. While Koko met the two in Middle School, Hotaru and Mikan even went to Kindergarten together.

"Ouch—yet again in the heart. I don't think my heart can survive by the end of this year with you two around." Koko said in a joking manner as he placed a hand on his chest. Mikan giggled slightly at Koko's act. She was really glad to have friends like these two.

As the teacher, Narumi, skipped into the room with his signature "dramatic entrance", the class began to laugh as he made his way to the center of the classroom. "Have all of you finished your essays for the story we read last class?" he asked as a lot of the students started to shy away from the scene, freaking out about their missed assignment. Narumi, however, saw this coming and placed a smile on his face. "I will give you guys one more day to work on it, mainly because I'm a kind teacher. But, most of you should follow the footsteps of out star students, Ruka Nogi and Hotaru Imai." he continued to say as he went back towards his desk.

Koko nudged Mikan slightly. "That's Hotaru for ya, always keeping her status and grades up in the A's." he said in a joking manner as Mikan's hazel eyes shifted from Hotaru, and then to Ruka. "Must be nice to be smart…" she said with a sigh as he agreed with her statement.

The class went on as usual, with the same old boring material and boring lectures. As the little brunette began to doze off throughout the class, she started to ponder in thoughts about the love letters, and then to the ways people think of her. She may not show it, but deep down she really disliked owning such a depressing title.

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><p><strong>At lunch<strong>

"Wow Hotaru, if you keep this up you have a great chance of getting into the high ranked schools!" Koko exclaimed to his emotionless friend as they made their way to an empty table. She simply grunted in annoyance. "It's not that great." she stated in a nonchalant tone as they set the trays down. Mikan arched up an eye brow at the two of them."What's not that great?" she asked as the two made themselves comfortable in the seat.

"This idiot here keeps mentioning how great my performance is in school, though to be honest it isn't as great as it seems. That Ruka kid keeps battling with me for the spot at #1." she said in an annoyed tone as Mikan's mouth opened up. "Hotaru, don't think like that! You're like, the smartest person I know!" she exclaimed as her hazel eyes twinkled towards her best friend. Hotaru stared at her with an unreadable expression.

"Mikan, you know very well that your brother, Natsume, is way smarter than I am." she said in annoyance as she rolled her eyes.

"Mikan has a brother?!" Koko piped up in shock as he paused his eating.

"Step Brother." Mikan interrupted in a cold tone. "Besides, he left my family when I was in elementary school to go study in America. I don't consider him my brother anymore." she stated as she began to stir her food. Her eyes looked down uncomfortably as she began to recall the memories of her brother.

Natsume Hyuuga is Mikan's Step Brother who left her family to study abroad when she was about 14 years old. At the time Natsume was 18 years old, making them have a 4 year age difference. He wasn't just any brother, he was an ideal figure as well. He was good at every sport, every subject in school, he was polite to his elders, and he was really good looking. He had raven dark hair that gave him a mysterious kind of aura, while his deep crimson eyes could probably seduce most women with just a gaze.

Nobody in the neighborhood, and possibly the town, did not know of him. Koko, however, moved to this town after Natsume moved away so he was unaware of him. To Mikan, her brother was someone she idealized as a child, but when he chose to leave her and her family to go to America it broke her heart, making her come to dislike him throughout the years.

No matter how long she waited, he never seemed to return, never called her once, never emailed her once, never tried to contact her at all. She felt so lonely, considering that her parents even got messages from him throughout the years.

A small sigh came out of her mouth as her two friends both looked at each other with slight concern, but decided to not to say anything. After a few moments of silence, Koko thought of something to lighten up the mood. "So, Hotaru, want to help me and Mikan finish up our essays?" he asked with his puppy dog eyes, making her roll her eyes in response. "You're responsible for your own work." she replied as she continued to drink her water. "But Hotaruuuuuuu!" he exclaimed back, making her hit him with her baka gun.

_**Baka baka baka**_

"Ow, what was that for?" he exclaimed as he rubbed his head to ease down the pain.

"For your idiocy. You need to learn to pay attention in class." she said in an annoyed tone, knowing very well that she needs to be strict on him, even though he's her friend.

Mikan watched as her two friends began to bicker at each other, making her smile at the scene. She was glad to have friends like them, especially since they accepted her, even with the unloved rejecter title.

"Hotaru, maybe it would be good for you to help us with the essay. You don't need to explain what to do, just give us advice if we're having trouble." Mikan said as she piped in, also giving her pleading puppy eyes. Her best friend stared at the two for a good 3 seconds before nodding. "Alright fine, just you better be doing all the work yourself." she stated as the two of them began to cheer with joy.

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><p><strong>After School<strong>

As the three walked into the library they saw Ruka, who was sitting alone by a table near a large window. He had the aura of a smart and goody-two-shoes student. Not only that, but Ruka Nogi was also quite good looking compared to the other guys in the class. Maybe not as good looking as Natsume, but he was almost in par with him. His soft blond hair and beautiful blue eyes give him a foreigner look that leaves a girl in awe.

"Ruka!" Koko yelled out as he approached the boy, making Hotaru face palm and Mikan stare at him in disbelief. "That idiot." Hotari said in a grunt as she joined the two boys at the table.

Ruka looked up as he saw the three of them walk over towards him, startling him slightly. "Oh, hey you guys." he said as he was still trying to figure out what was happening. His face turned red slightly, but quickly changed back to normal. "W-what are you guys coming over here for?" he asked as he tried to avert his glance away from Hotaru, who continued to stare at him.

Koko smiled at his question. "Well, if we have two geniuses here maybe me and Mikan could inherit some of that intelligence." he joked. "Though we also need help with our essays, and what better way to finish it then by getting the two geniuses in the class to help us out."

Both Ruka and Hotaru stared at him for a bit. "I guess it can't be helped." Ruka said as he closed his book, giving off a small smile. "Come sit down." He was quite happy to have at least some time with Hotaru, even if it was for work.

As they all sat down, Ruka tried to leave the seat next to him open as he removed his bag and jacket from it. "You can sit here Hotaru." Ruka offered with a smile, making her look at him in suspicion. She didn't like the idea of her rival offering her a seat. "I think I'll sit over here." she said as she walked over by the seat next to Koko.

His blue eyes gave off a small, sad look as he saw Hotaru walk over there. Mikan watched the whole situation unfold, and smiled in the inside at a thought. _"So Ruka likes Hotaru. Wow, this is quite a combination."_ she thought in her head as she started to remember all the love letters she had received. _"Do all the guys I turn down look as sad as Ruka did at that one moment?"_ Her mouth began to frown as she started to feel guilt.

"Mikan!" Koko yelled out, making her jolt back into reality. "Koko don't scare me like that!" she exclaimed in a slight pout as she gave off a tiny, yet joking, glare towards her jokester friend. "Sorry Mikan, but you didn't answer me no matter how many times I called you. Is everything alright?" he asked with concern filling his eyes. When Koko had said that, Ruka and Hotaru also looked over to her.

Mikan's face started to redden at all the attention, making her play with her brunette hair. "I-it's nothing! Really!" she exclaimed in a slight stutter, making everyone arch an eye brow up. They didn't believe her, but decided not to bug her about it, knowing she wouldn't tell her worries to anyone.

Mikan didn't tell her worries not because she didn't trust her friends; she decided not to tell them in order to not make them worry about her. After her brother left to America, she was depressed for days, leaving Hotaru nothing but worry on her shoulders. After she had recovered from the shock she decided never to let her friends worry so much, because it hurt her to see Hotaru with all the concern filling in her eyes.

Eventually it was almost 6pm, and everyone had to head home for dinner. Luckily, Koko managed to finish his essay but Mikan was having the most difficult time of her life on it. It wasn't because she didn't get it, it was because she had MAJOR writers block.

"I'll just finish this at home." she told them, as they all looked at her. "Are you sure?" Ruka asked politely, making her nod in response. "Yeah, thanks for helping us Ruka."

"If you need any help, just call me up." Hotaru said with a slight smile, making Mikan smile back. Hotaru rarely helps with homework, but when she saw her best friend with a troubled expression, she thought it would be a good idea to help her with her homework to dim down those worries.

After they all bid their good byes, they all split ways and headed towards their house. It was still quite nice and sunny out at the moment, making Mikan's brunette hair look as lively and smooth as ever. As she walked down the path she could hear slight whispering going around, but not just any whispering, a lot of whispering. Her hazel eyes shifted from left to right as she saw many people look shocked, happy, and in disbelief as the whispers were being told around the neighborhood.

"_If the neighborhood all knew about the secret, then mom is bound to know."_ Mikan thought as she decided to just ask her mom about it.

As she reached her house she went up to open the door. "I'm Hom—" and in midst of her sentence she saw a stunning looking guy, taller than her, with dark raven hair and crimson red eyes. Her eyes widened in complete shock.

Her tall, handsome, and successful 22 year old step brother was back at her house.

As Natsume stared at her, he saw how beautiful she had become. "I'm back." he said with a slight smile as Mikan continued to stare in shock. And with that the largest smack was heard.

_**Smack**_

Natsume's crimson eyes widened at the sudden hit to his face, placing his hand where he was hit to comprehend what just happened. "Welcome back _brother_." she said as she sent a glare right towards him.

That was quite the 4 year reunion.

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><p><strong>Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Read x Review. <strong>


	2. Natsume's Return

**Here comes chapter 2! I love writing forbidden love stories! C: I hope you enjoy! Read x Review. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice.**

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><p>"Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them."<p>

-Bruce Lee

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><p><em>As Natsume stared at her, he saw how beautiful she had become. "I'm back." he said with a slight smile as Mikan continued to stare in shock. And with that the largest smack was heard. <em>

_**Smack**_

_Natsume's crimson eyes widened at the sudden hit to his face, placing his hand where he was hit to comprehend what just happened. "Welcome back brother." she said as she sent a glare right towards him. _

_That was quite the 4 year reunion._

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Natsume's Return<strong>

"What happened?!" a woman cried out as she ran up to the front door, only to see her daughter upset and her step son injured."W-what is going on?!" she raged on as she dragged the two of them inside. The father was sitting at the dining table in disbelief. "You two, what is the meaning of this?!" he yelled out, demanding an answer.

Natsume looked at the two adults in a calming manner. "I come home and Mikan here slaps me out of nowhere. Is she in her rebellion stage?" he asked as he sat down beside his father. "By the way mother, this is a lovely feast you've prepared." he complemented, trying to get her anger calmed down.

"Why thank you—wait… don't change the subject! I need an explanation as to why you—" and she pointed at her daughter "—would go out of your way to slap your brother after not seeing him for years! Didn't you used to idolize him as a child? I don't get why you'd want to do any physical damage towards him." she exclaimed with a sigh as she placed her hand on her forehead, trying to comprehend all that has happened.

Mikan began to shift her hazel eyes from one person to the next before answering. "Are you kidding me? Are you really asking me why I did this? Do you expect me to come home and ACCEPT the fact that the brother who left out family for 4 years is now back with no notice?!" she exclaimed as she watched her parents, disbelieving the fact that they were easily accepting this.

Her eyes then shifted towards Natsume, glaring at him harder than before. "As for you Natsume, I'm not sure what you're thinking, but don't expect me to just act like your "cute little sister" again like the past after that whole disappearing stunt you did." she stated as she placed one hand on her hip.

His crimson eyes narrowed towards her, and slightly softened. "It might be better that way." he said in a soft mutter, making Mikan arch one of her eye brows up. "Pardon?" she asked, wanting him to repeat what he said, though he simply ignored her request.

"Mother, father, I'll be up in my room unpacking. I hope I didn't inconvenience you." he said in a polite tone before making his way up the stairs. "My, he's become even more of a gentleman." the mother said as she smiled towards her husband. "Don't you agree?" the father nodded in agreement, smiling back at his wife. Mikan, on the other hand, huffed at that situation. "What do you mean "more of a gentleman"? He's become an inconvenience to my life, suddenly popping up like that!" she exclaimed as she threw her hands up in the air.

The two parents looked at her, but only the mother gave off an upsetting look. "Young lady, you're still in a lot of trouble for hitting your brother—"

"—step brother" she interrupted.

Her mother huffed in response. "—and as punishment you'll get your computer taken away for the day." she stated as she went over towards Mikan's backpack and pulled out her laptop. Mikan's face turned into a nervous expression. "Mom, I need my laptop though! I have an essay due tomorrow!" she exclaimed in annoyance, making her mother agitated by the behavior.

"You said you had an essay due today!" she yelled out, making Mikan shy away slightly. She completely forgot that she hadn't told her mother about the essay, and on top of that if her mother knew about her forgetting to do her essay, she'd be grounded for the day as well. She grunted slightly before replying. "It's another essay." she said in the most calming way she could.

Her mother eyed her suspiciously. "Well, if you really need a computer for the essay, why not go ask your brother. Oh, and while you're at it, GO APOLOGIZE for your behavior." she scolded as she went over and placed the laptop on the father's lap. "But—"

"—end of conversation!"

And with that Mikan sent off a glare before heading up the stairs in annoyance.

"Yuka, maybe you were a bit too hard on our daughter." the father said as she grabbed her wrist. Yuka sighed at his response. "I know… but her actions were really unacceptable, no matter what reason it was." she said as she kissed her husband and then went back to her cooking. _"Looks like there won't be a family reunion dinner today."_ she thought in a sigh as she eyed the stairs that her two children went up on.

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><p><strong>Natsume's Room<strong>

Natsume began to unpack his stuff as he started to recall all the events that had happened since his arrival.

**Flashback**

As Natsume arrived back at his hometown, many of the neighbors started to stare at him in awe, shock, and excitement. "Natsume, is that you? My, have you grown up so fast!" one of the ladies said as he gave her a polite nod. "Nice to see you well Mrs. Imai, how's your daughter doing?" he asked in a polite tone, making her smile. "Oh Hotaru? She's doing fine as always. Did you know her and Mikan are attending Alice Academy at the moment?" she asked as he began to look down. "I… did not." he admitted, feeling quite guilty for not keeping in touch. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought Mikan might have told you? Well, it was certainly wonderful meeting you again, tell your mother I said hi." she said before walking back towards her house.

Natsume sighed. It wasn't that he didn't want to keep in touch with Mikan, it was a more complicated reason. Of course, it was a reason he wasn't planning to talk with anyone about. And even if it gets his step-sister to hate him, he would continue to keep quiet of it.

After a small pause he continued down the road, getting more glances here and there. With most people stopping him to have a small reunion, his arrival at the house was delayed, agitating him a bit. Eventually, after that long walk (or so, that's how he felt—it was only about half a mile in reality), he made it to his house, making him slightly nervous. It's been 4 years since he last came and his anticipation was building up.

He quickly rang the doorbell and waited for a bit before hearing the door click open. "Oh my! Natsume! Welcome home!" Yuka, his step mother, exclaimed as he grabbed him inside the house and hugged him. "You don't know how much me and your father have missed you!" she exclaimed as the father ran down the stairs. "Who's at the do—Natsume!" the father exclaimed in excitement as well, coming over give a small family hug. "We've missed you so much! How have you been?" the father asked as he released the hug. Natsume gave a small smile at the two. "A lot has happened, though before I talk about it where is Mikan? She should hear some of this too." he said.

"Oh, she's currently not here at the moment, but she should be back soon. You could take off your shoes while I go finish up the cooking. Today we NEED to have an amazing feast!" she said aloud as she ran over towards the kitchen, dragging her husband along with her. Right before he was about to take off his shoes he heard the door open in front of him.

"I'm Hom—"

And then all the events started to unfold.

**End of flashback **

He gave off a small grunt as he went to lie on his bed, giving himself a small break. He placed his arm over his eyes as he started to think about Mikan. Natsume knew very well that he had hurt her a lot, but he knew it was for the best. Though when he saw the mature brunette walk through the front door, he saw how beautiful she had become. Only for that moment, he gave himself the permission to think that way.

While in midst of his deep thought he heard someone knock loudly on the door. _"Must be Mikan, only she would angrily knock on a door at this time."_ he thought as he gave off a small sigh. "It's open." he said as he saw the door click open, revealing a really agitated brunette. Her cold, hazel gaze locked onto his face, startling him for a second. "You're the last person I expected. What do you need?" he asked, arching one eye brow up as she walked over towards him as he sat up.

"Give me your laptop." she stated, still pissed off about her laptop getting taken away. Natsume simply smirked. "Who said I'd give it to you that easily, _sister_?" he said as she glared at him even more. She just rolled her eyes. "I said so, now hand it over." she said as she held out her hand, though Natsume refused to move. "Not with an attitude like that. Apologize for slapping me and maybe I'll give it to you." he said as she huffed at his response.

"Look, you know very well why I did it. You should even know it was completely your fault. Why is it that everyone thinks I'm the villain here?" she complained as Natsume just watched her nag. "Mikan, I know what I did to you was harsh, but just be aware that I had a reason to do it." he said calmly as he went over to his luggage to grab his laptop. "Just wait a minute; I'll get my laptop now."

As Mikan waited she went over towards his bed and started to lie down on it, reminding her of the fun times her and Natsume had as children. The smell of his blankets was the same, making her smile inside. As she laid there thinking, her mind began to doze off until she went into a deep slumber.

Eventually Natsume found the laptop, cursing to himself for packing his bag so badly. "Alright Mikan, here's the—" and as he turned around he saw a peaceful brunette haired girl sleeping silently on his bed. He walked over and smiled inwardly to himself as he brushed some of her lose hair away from her face. "Now if only you stayed this peaceful…" he whispered as he watched her smile in her dream. What kind of dream did she have to make her smile like that? Let's just say it had to do with her past memories with a certain raven haired boy. No matter how much Mikan has grown to hate him, deep down she still really wanted him in her life.

"Sweet dreams Mikan." he said softly as he exited his room.

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><p><strong>The next morning<strong>

The little brunette blinked her eyes a few times before she slowly awoke inside a room that didn't seem to be hers. At first she was startled and slightly freaked out by this, but then last night's events started to replay in her head. She set herself up and itched her eyes until she could finally see a bit more clearly. After yawning a bit and stretching her arms, she shifted her eyes towards a clock which read 8:00 am.

"Oh it's only 8—OH WAIT IT'S ALREADY 8?!" she exclaimed in shock as she scrambled out of bed and ran down the hall, towards her room. "Oh no oh no oh no oh no! I can't be late, no I can't be—urghhhh and I forgot to write the essay!" Today was starting off to be a terrible day for Mikan.

She quickly wore her uniform, tied her hair in a messy pony tail (no time for pigtails today), and ran downstairs, only to see that nobody was home. A huff came out of her mouth as she realized that nobody bothered to wake her up.

"Mom probably said 'Oh, she's an adult now so if she misses school that's her own responsibility' to the other two in the house and told them to leave it be." she said in annoyance as she mimicked her mom's voice.

Quickly, she grabbed her bag and ran out the door, ignoring breakfast.

As she was running town the sidewalks she heard her phone ring, though she decided to ignore it during her haste to school. It continued to ring, and ring, and ring until she finally just took out her phone and—put it on silent. She didn't even choose to pick it up. Her eyes rolled slightly as she noticed it was Hotaru calling her. After having such a crummy morning, Mikan didn't have time to talk to anyone until she was fully out of her temporary PMSing. "What a lovely morning today." she said in a grunt.

And when she thought things couldn't get any worse…

Mikan rushed into the school, getting scolded by a few teachers for running in the halls, and completely forgetting to change into her indoor shoes. "Urgh…" she grunted as she ran back to the lockers, getting scolded even more by teachers for running in the halls, and changed her shoes. But wait, there's more! As she opened up her locker she noticed yet ANOTHER love letter. She began to face palm at the amount of luck she was having this morning.

She quickly took out her phone. "Okay it's only 8:20am, I'm only about 5 minutes late so far." she said in relief as she shoved it back into her bag and dashed towards her classroom. Of course, she got more complaints from teachers for running in the halls. At this rate, she'll probably get a detention slip.

Finally, she made it to the class, slamming the doors wide open. "Sorry I'm la—" and then she came face to face with a pair of crimson red eyes. Her eyes widened at the sight.

"_Oh great."_ she thought sarcastically as she saw the smirk forming on Natsume's face.

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><p><strong>Now the story is started to get moving. Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more, and Read x Review! Also feel free to add suggestions in the reviews. <strong>


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